The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 2000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Guinness

Guinness

Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...

 Hurling Championship) was the 114th edition of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

’s premier hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 knockout competition. The championship ran from May to September of that year, culminating with the All-Ireland final, held at Croke Park

Croke Park

Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...

, Dublin on 10 September. The match was contested by Kilkenny

Kilkenny GAA

The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...

 and Offaly

Offaly GAA

The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly...

, with Kilkenny taking the title by 5-15 to 1-14. The prize for the winning team was the Liam McCarthy Cup

Liam McCarthy Cup

The MacCarthy Perpetual Challenge Cup is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the hurling team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.-The trophy:...

.

Format

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was run on a provincial basis as usual. All provincial games were played on a knockout basis whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship. The defeated Munster and Leinster finalists were given a second chance to capture the All-Ireland title as they re-entered the championship via the ‘back-door’ system. The format for the All-Ireland series of games ran as follows:

• The winners of the Leinster Championship
  Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
  The Leinster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Leinster in Ireland....
  
   advanced directly to the first All-Ireland semi-final.
• The winners of the Munster Championship
  Munster Senior Hurling Championship
  The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
  
   advanced directly to the second All-Ireland semi-final.
• The winners of the Ulster Championship
  Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
  The Ulster Senior Hurling Championship is the premier intercounty "knockout" competition in the game of hurling played in the province of Ulster. The series of games are organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months. The Ulster Hurling Final is played in July...
  
   advanced directly to the second All-Ireland quarter-final where they were drawn to play the defeated Munster finalists.
• Galway
  Galway GAA
  The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
  
  , a team who faced no competition in the Connacht Championship
  Connacht Senior Hurling Championship
  The Connacht Senior Hurling Championship was the premier "knockout" competition in the game of hurling played in the province of Connacht in Ireland. The series of games were organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and were played during the summer months.Over the last number of years the...
  
  , automatically advanced to the first All-Ireland quarter-final where they were drawn to play the defeated Leinster finalists.
• Repeat games at the All-Ireland semi-final stages were avoided.

Ulster Senior Hurling Championship

Ulster Senior Hurling Championship

The Ulster Senior Hurling Championship is the premier intercounty "knockout" competition in the game of hurling played in the province of Ulster. The series of games are organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months. The Ulster Hurling Final is played in July...

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Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....

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Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

The Leinster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Leinster in Ireland....

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All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....

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All-Ireland final

External links

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2000 Results